Ziggurat Update: Now With 73% More Regret and Rendering Time

Creators & Designers
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Turns out making videos is hard. Who knew?
(You did, @dungeondive. You absolutely did.)

In what may be the most ambitious “I’ll just learn it as I go” project since someone lit a torch and walked into a tomb, I’ve been teaching myself how to make videos - so I could show off Ziggurat’s latest shape without subjecting potential fans to a wall of patch notes.

The result is a setup tutorial and a full “teach ‘n’ play” of the Monolith tutorial quest, starring Vixen the Wildwood Wanderer, some questionable tactical choices, and suspiciously sentient shrubbery.

If you’re curious about how the game plays these days - or just want to see what happens when a wannabe board game designer points a camera at their own creation - here’s what I’ve put together:

It’s all still a work in progress - Ziggurat continues to mutate - but these should give you a good sense of where it’s at now. Feedback, questions, and knowing looks from experienced content creators all welcome.

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I think you’ve got a good design here. Lot’s of stuff to like!

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I wish I had more time to watch the videos. What is the biggest obstacle for completing the game for you? I feel like I’ve been watching you work on it from a distance for a few years now.

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I’m getting close – am finalising components for a “blind play test” box as we speak :wink:

  • Rules complete (pending blowback from players)
  • Content complete (too much content.. am paring back what might go into a base box)
  • Graphic design – Ongoing (but looking great)
  • Balancing, refining etc – Ongoing (I will need help here)
  • Art – undecided.. mix of AI and human right now (would love to do get it all illustrated but I’m way past the ability to recover costs already)

I love it… but its a bit quirky. I have no idea how it will land, even amongst divers.

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The moment I declared myself “close,” the finish line retreated into the mist.

I’ve become entangled in another start-up of late, which has been greedily consuming my daylight hours. Still, the Ziggurat advances - not swiftly, but with a slow inevitability.

For those curious about graphic design tweaks, component shifts, and the general alchemy of game development, I’ve been conducting those discussions openly with my long-suffering and talented graphic designer over on the Fullasagoog forum:

This wasn’t part of some grand transparency strategy - it just proved more efficient than endless email threads. The conversations are candid, occasionally chaotic, and sprinkled with spoilers. I may prune them later, so wander through while the doors remain ajar.

Enter at your own peril :slight_smile:

Did I say “sprinkled with spoilers”? I should have said spoilers abound, they are everywhere.. you will be spoiled. That is all.

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